The Miracle of Mistletoe
by Awesomegreentie
Summary: Prompted by a Secret Santa exchange on Tumblr.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N This is my entry to the Secret Santa exchange on Tumblr. It was organized by batessecretservice and written for silly beggar. Hope you enjoy. I'd love to get some reviews. Call it my Christmas present.**

 **I don't own...**

"Alright fine. I won't deny it, I have feelings for her. I have feelings for Anna Smith. Are you happy now?"

John looked around the little cafe quickly, hoping that his small outburst hadn't drawn any attention.

Robert spoke more softly in his reply, "I'm happy if your happy. And I believe you and Anna can make each other happy. To be honest, it would make me extremely happy not to have to spend another year watching the two of you pine for one another."

"I'm sure she's not pining for me."

Rob let the merest bit of a smile twitch his lips when he noticed his friend and colleague didn't deny his own pining. He schooled his features and continued, "That's not what Mary says." When he noticed the look of horror on John's face, he added, "They tell each other everything you know."

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway," John deflected Rob's comment, "you're forgetting something rather important."

"Oh?"

"I'm still a married man. When I last spoke to Vera, she made it very clear that she has no intention of filing for the decree absolute once the decree nisi finally comes through, and since she began the divorce proceedings, I'll have to wait three months after that before I can file for it myself."

Rob rolled his eyes. He could not for the life of him understand how someone like John Bates had ever ended up with someone like Vera. His friend's taste in women had certainly improved since he had arrived at Downton & Associates.

"Now, you're forgetting something, Bates."

"What's that?" John scowled.

"It's not the bloody Edwardian Era! People **do** have relationships while they're in the process of divorce. There's no shame in it these days."

John repeated himself as if he were trying to explain something relatively simple to a small child, "I can't marry her if I'm still married."

"Marry her? Good lord, Bates. You haven't even kissed her yet. You haven't even asked her out on a proper date. I doubt very much she'd be expecting to go from whatever the hell it is the two of you have been doing for the past 3 years to a proposal of marriage with no steps in between."

It was quiet between the two men for a moment. John was concentrating on his cup of tea as if it were the most interesting item in the universe, realizing that he had revealed far more about his feelings for Anna than he had ever intended.

Obviously, Rob had picked up on this too, saying softly, "Marry her, eh?"

"Shut up," Bates growled, "and if you tell Mary, or even Cora, I'll kill you."

"Your secret is safe with me," Rob answered, making a locking motion in front of his mouth. "So, are you going to ask her out?"

John looked well and truly miserable, "I can't Rob, I just can't."

"Because of the divorce? I thought we just covered that."

"It's not just that," John waited but was met with a patient stare from his friend and boss. He knew he was going to have to continue, "I've just admitted how I feel about her. But I can't do that to Anna. She deserves so much better than anything I can offer her."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not being ridiculous. Anna is a young woman. She loves to go out. She loves to dance…"

"She loves you!"

Now it was John's turn to roll his eyes, "In any case," he huffed, "She has her whole life ahead of her. I'm sure she wants marriage, and a family, a nice home…"

"And you're not prepared to give her those things?"

"Of course I would, if I could, but I can't."

"Whyever not?" Robert was getting frustrated at this whole conversation. He loved John like a brother, but his best mate's overactive sense of honor was trying at times. He honestly didn't see how Anna had the patience.

"As you pointed out yourself, marriage would be a long way off and I'm not getting any younger. I don't even know if I can father a child. Vera and I never had any children."

"Thank God."

John laughed bitterly, "and we never did anything to prevent it."

"As far as you know."

John nodded, taking Rob's words into consideration, "As far as I know. In any case," he continued after finishing his tea, "Anna's not going to wait forever. And as for a home...I'm in so much debt with the divorce and my medical and legal bills…"

"I've told you a hundred times I'd be happy to pay off your debts," Robert spoke sincerely, "I owe you my life after all."

"And I've told you 'no' a hundred times. You don't owe me anything."

"John, you gave me my life back," Rob insisted.

"Yes, and you gave me mine when you allowed an alcoholic with a criminal record to be your personal assistant. And gave me a cottage on the estate for an insultingly low rent each month."

"I can always raise the rent, if it bothers you that much," Rob grinned.

"No, no," John laughed, "I'll swallow my pride this one time. Now come on, we've got to get back to work. I don't want the boss to catch me out."


	2. Chapter 2

A few days later, John was staring out the window of his office. Running his fingers through his hair, he wondered what he was going to do. The situation with Anna was getting completely out of hand. She had left his office a few moments ago and John hadn't been able to get back to work since. She came in to ask him a question and it had been necessary to pull up some information on his computer. Anna was a petite woman and, because he was a rather tall man, John had found himself mere inches from her neck as she leaned over to point out some detail she needed his opinion on.

It was bad enough when she was across the room. Having her close enough that John could smell her perfume (some mixture of lavender and vanilla) had caused him to lose all concentration. When she slowly swept a stray strand of hair behind her ear, John had agreed with her even though he had no idea what she had said. He couldn't keep on this way. It wasn't fair to Robert and it wasn't fair to Anna.

"Hello Uncle John," Sybil's voice roused him from his thoughts.

"Hello Sweetpea. How's my favorite godchild?" John stepped toward the youngest Crawley daughter and quickly kissed her cheek.

Sybil giggled at both the nickname and the kiss, "I'm you're **only** godchild, Uncle John."

"Even if I had a thousand, you would still be my favorite," he smiled broadly.

"Those are the types of lines you should be using on Anna, not me."

He groaned, "Not you too? I thought you were always on my side."

"I **am** on your side. Yours and Anna's."

"Anna and I don't have a side." He slumped into his chair and began shuffling papers on his desk.

"Can I help you? Or did you just stop by to weigh in on my love life?"

Sybil laughed sweetly, "No, no, actually, I was looking for Papa, but he wasn't in. I thought it was a good opportunity to stop in and say hi. I never get to see you enough."

He cocked an eyebrow, "Or nudge me enough in Anna's direction?"

"Do you need nudging? It didn't look like that when I came in. It looked more like you needed encouragement."

John audibly sighed but Sybil sat on the edge of his desk and continued, "You should get what you want, Uncle John. Heaven knows you've earned it."

He shook his head, "I haven't earned anything, love. And I don't know why you and your father are so sure Anna would say 'yes' even if I did ask her out."

"Don't say that, any woman would be lucky to go out with you. You're rather dashing you know."

John scoffed at her flattery.

Fiddling with the stapler, Sybil continued without making eye contact, "Anna is crazy about you."

"Really?" he answered skeptically, "And how do you know that?"

"Well for one thing, I ran into her in the hallway and she had that look on her face that she always has around you. That she **only** has around you."

"That could be a look of pity for all you know."

"Uncle John!" Sybil scolded.

 **A/N Thanks those of you who read or reviewed Chapter 1. Hope you continue to enjoy this story. Again, it was for Silly Beggar as a part of the Secret Santa exchange organized by BatesSecretService.**

 **I don't own...**

John stood and shooed his goddaughter off his desk, "Get back to work, Miss Crawley," he smiled, "I've already had this conversation with your father and I didn't enjoy it the first time."

Sybil hopped toward the door shrugging her shoulders, "Well, I am my father's daughter."

"You certainly are." He nudged her out the door and began to close it behind her as he finished his thought, "That's probably why I love you so much. But don't tell your dad I said so."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Sorry about the notes ending up in the middle of the last chapter. Not sure what happened there. Anyway, thank you to those of you following, and reviewing. Here's the next bit.**

 **I don't own...**

For the rest of the afternoon, John thought about what Sybil, and Robert for that matter, had been telling him. Maybe the universe was sending him a sign. After all, the topic kept coming up over and over again. At any rate, he couldn't go on the way he had been. This was torture and he wasn't getting any work done. He couldn't afford an obvious dip in performance; Thomas and O'Brien would surely use it against him.

He grabbed his jacket and headed toward Anna's desk in Mary's office before he could change his mind. He was going to ask her to have a quick cup of coffee with him before they headed to their respective homes; if it turned into dinner, then so be it. And if dinner turned into more than that, well... John ran his hands through his hair and stabbed at the call button on the lift, admonishing himself not to put the cart before the horse. Coffee, coffee was good.

Anna greeted him with a large and reassuring smile as he entered Mary's suite of offices. "Hello, Mr. Bates. To what do we owe this pleasure?"

He was just about to speak when Mary burst through her door, swirling her coat onto her shoulders. "Anna, aren't you ready yet? Chop, chop. I'm really looking forward to our evening. It's the perfect way to capitalize on Matthew's absence. Oh, hello Bates. I didn't see you there."

At Mary's words, John decided that the universe was indeed sending him a message. It had stopped him from making a fool of himself.

"Earth to Bates," Mary huffed, "did you hear me?"

"What? No, sorry."

"I said hello. And I wanted to thank you for changing my meeting with Papa to Thursday instead of Friday. That will be much more convenient. I can't believe he was free on such short notice."

John looked confused, "I'm sorry?"

"Goodness Bates, have you eaten today? You seem to be having a rather rough go of it."

 _If only she knew,_ John thought as Mary continued.

"Anna said she was able to reschedule my meeting with Papa."

John's mind whirled as he stood there.

Anna chimed in, "You remember, John. We arranged it on Mr. Crawley's schedule. I showed it to you on the computer."

"Oh yes, of course," John sputtered. _Damned perfume. I hope Robert really is free at whatever time we picked_ , he thought.

"Anyway," Mary continued skeptically, "Anna and I were just going back to mine to watch chick flicks and drink wine. Weren't we Anna?"

Anna nodded at her boss but looked back at John, "Did you need something?"

"Hmm? Oh no, no. I just wanted to reconfirm the time for the new meeting so I can text Robert and let him know." Was that a look of disappointment he saw cross Anna's face? No, he must be imagining things.

"And you couldn't do that from your computer?" Mary asked.

"I um, had already, ah, shut off my computer when I thought to text him."

"Mmmm, I see." Mary paused, "Well I'm sure Anna knows, tell him and let's go. That wine isn't going to drink itself."

Anna tapped a few keys on her computer and relayed the new time for the meeting, which John dutifully noted on his phone. She rose, put on her jacket and followed Mary toward the door. She looked back just before she left.

"Have a good evening, Mr. Bates."

"You too, Anna." He let his silence linger just a little too long before he remembered to add, "Oh, and you too, Mary."


	4. Chapter 4

Anna and Mary were well into their second bottle of wine and had long abandoned any pretense of watching the movie. Mary had just finished telling Anna all about the joys of being newly married and was ready to hear about Anna's life.

"So, any news on the Anna and Bates front?"

"No," Anna complained miserably, a little in her cups at this point in the evening, "Truth be told, I think I'm going to throw in the towel."

"What?! You've been waxing poetic about him since the moment he arrived here. You can't give up now. When he's finally making progress on his divorce."

"Mary please, if he were going to make a move, he would have done it by now. You should have seen me in his office. I leaned over his shoulder so far I was practically in his lap. His face was inches from my cleavage for god's sake. And still, nothing."

"I wouldn't be so sure. You know Uncle John. There's never been a man in history with a stronger or more irritating sense of honor."

"I used to think it was just his honor, but this close to the end of his marriage, that can't be all it is. No, I'm pretty sure I've been relocated to the friend zone."

"Oh Anna," Mary pulled her friend and confidant into a brief hug.

"Don't worry about me. I'm a trooper. It's nothing that a pint of ice cream and Colin Firth can't cure."

Mary looked at her sideways, "You could always have Joseph Molesley."

"Mary," Anna warned, "just turn on the telly."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Sorry the last bit, and this one too, was so short, but things will move along now. And we are almost to the end.**

 **I don't own...**

John was cold and the snow was making his knee act up. For whatever reason, Robert decided it was a great idea to have a company holiday retreat. So everyone, from Mrs. Hughes and Mr. Carson on down to William and Daisy, were spending a long weekend at the Crawleys' Downton Estate. Although he got along well with most of his colleagues, he wasn't the most social man in the world at the best of times.

At least he would get to spend some time with Anna. She was in her element surrounded by her friends and colleagues. John gazed in her direction, captivated by the way she smiled and laughed with the others in the wagon that would take them from the gates up to the big house. She was dressed casually in a thick jumper, leggings, and boots. Completely appropriate for the current temperatures and completely lovely. Her golden hair and rosy cheeks had John temporarily rooted to his spot.

He was just about to make his way forward when Joseph Moseley materialized beside him.

"That Anna certainly is lovely, isn't she?" he asked.

"Yes, I suppose she is," John replied cautiously.

"Do you know if she's seeing anyone?"

John's skin began to prickle, "I don't think so," he hesitated a moment and added, "I've heard that there's someone she might be interested in though."

"Really? That's surprising, I never really see her with anyone but you," Moseley chuckled in the awkward way John always found equal parts sympathy inducing and irritating.

"I think I might just give it a go if you don't know for sure," Moseley continued, "You never know what could happen out here in the country. All that mistletoe and all. Maybe a Christmas miracle." He moved off to the wagon and climbed in next to Anna, pulling the blanket she had across her lap over his as well.

John felt his blood begin to boil. He had no right to be jealous, but he knew the mixture of disappointment, panic, and rage he was feeling could be attributed to nothing else. It was odd really. He had been married to Vera and well aware that she was sleeping with others behind his back; it had made him angry, but he had never been jealous. He wasn't even **in** a relationship with Anna and yet knowing Moseley was interested in her, and seeing them sitting next to one another and chatting, made him feel ill.

He walked toward the wagon in order to grab the last seat, which just happened to be next to Anna, but was forced to move carefully due to the dodgy footing and his even dodgier knee. Before he was even half way there, Thomas beat him to the punch, smirking in John's direction as he sat down next to Anna.

John stood still for a moment not knowing what to do.

"Bates," he turned and saw Matthew smiling and motioning him over, "we have room up here. You can ride with us."

He climbed in next to Mrs. O'Brien, hoping against hope that she wouldn't offer to share her blanket with him.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N All the chapters have been super short so far so I decided to combine a few so you got a longer shot this time. Thank you to those of you who take the time to drop me a note in reviews. It is really appreciated.**

 **I don't own...**

The retreat had gotten off to a good start. Once the wagons had arrived at Downton, the guests were given time to settle themselves into their rooms before they were expected in the sitting room for cocktails. Next, everyone was ushered into the Grand Dining Room for an elaborate dinner that would have been well suited to its purpose 100 years ago. Robert had beamed as he thanked his staff for their hard work and dedication over the past year. It did John's heart good to see him so happy. Now, everyone was sitting around the ballroom in various groups talking, playing games or listening to music. Mary and Sybil stood off to the side watching John and Anna talk and laugh together in a quiet corner.

"Look at those two Mary. What are we going to do about them?" Sybil asked her eldest sister.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it better be fast. Anna was just telling me the other night that she's about given up hope that Uncle John will ever make a move. I think she might mean it this time. And I have to say I don't blame her."

"Don't say that Mary. She can't give up on him, she can't. Just look at them." She glanced at the couple sitting much too closely together and rarely noticing anyone else. "It's not Uncle John's fault. It's that witch of a wife who won't let him go."

"But she's signed the papers now hasn't she? He's getting his divorce and he still won't declare himself. How long can he expect someone like Anna to stay available? She's waited long enough."

"He **is** still married…" Sybil defended.

"In name only. And Anna doesn't care. Neither does anyone else. Only John cares, it's his damned sense of honor."

"Surely a sense of honor is a good thing in this day and age?" Sybil admonished.

"Well anyway," Mary huffed, "I'm not sure what I can do. Can't you have a word with Uncle John? You've always had him more or less wrapped around your little finger."

"I have been trying. He just won't budge. He thinks he's not good enough for her, despite how many times I've told him he's wrong. Can't you tell him how Anna feels about him?"

"Me?! What makes you think he'd listen to me if he won't listen to you? Besides, Anna would kill me if she ever found out."

"But if she didn't find out…"

"Not on your life, Sybil darling. You'll just have to come up with another idea. It's too bad we couldn't guarantee that he gets Anna's name in the Secret Santa exchange. He might give himself away with his choice of gift or something."

Sybil's eyes began to sparkle, "Why can't we guarantee it? Oh Mary, you're a genious! I'm going to find Papa right now and volunteer to organize the exchange."

 _I hope this all works out,_ Mary thought, _better Sybil than me._

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Robert had set up a disco and as soon as the music began Joseph Molesley made a b-line toward Anna.

"Fancy a go around the floor, Anna?"

"Oh, well," Anna waffled, "John and I were…"

At Jeseph's approach, John experienced the same feelings he had earlier in the day. Before he knew it, he was interrupting Anna, "Of course you should go. It's not like I can dance with you."

"John," she tried to argue, but again he talked over her.

"Go ahead, Anna. Don't let me slow you down, I've done enough of that already."

Anna stood and let Joseph lead her toward the dance floor, but she looked back at John with frustration written all over her face. He watched long enough to see her start to lose herself in the music. She and Molesley were both clearly having a good time. John felt vindicated in his misery. Here was the proof he had been looking for. He couldn't give Anna the things she wanted or needed. He couldn't even dance with her.

He rose and made his way over to Robert, "Would you mind terribly if I headed up to bed?"

Rob turned his attention to John, a look of concern marring his features, "Are you alright? Nothing wrong I hope?"

"No, no, nothing's wrong. It's just that the cold has my knee a little stiff and I know we'll be walking around York all day tomorrow. I thought I might give it a bit of a rest."

Robert took a swig of his drink and clapped John on the back, "Probably wise. We aren't as young as we used to be, hey Bates?"

John turned away before Robert could notice the scowl on his face. Sybil saw him heading for the stairs and called out. She had a basket on her arm and slipped a single piece of paper into the bottom. She approached him with a huge smile on her face, "You can't go up before choosing your Secret Santa." She held the basket toward him.

"Sorry, only one left," she apologized, handing him the paper containing Anna's name.

"No problem," he muttered, "Goodnight, Sweetpea. I'll see you tomorrow."

He took the paper and pushed it into his pocket, heading off before she could answer. He took the stairs with a grumble remembering what Rob had said. Even his best mate thought he was old. Anna could never be attracted to someone so much her senior.

He stopped on the gallery and looked down at the party, his attention was captured by one person, and one person only. Or two people more precisely. For every time he found Anna in the crowd, Joseph Moseley was right there with her. When he couldn't take it anymore he finally headed to his room and closed the door. He pulled the paper from his pocket and read Anna's name.

Throwing himself back on the bed, he groaned, "Perfect, just fucking perfect."

He eventually fell into a fitful sleep where he dreamed that Anna and Moseley were married with four beautiful children. In his dream, he was a bachelor and went to their house for dinner every Sunday, pining away for what might have been if he had been brave enough to act on his feelings.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N The final bit. Hope you will find the conclusion satisfying. Thank you to those who took the time to read and review. Reviews are what keep us going.**

 **I don't own...**

John barely slept that night and was in a terrible mood the next day. Rob had booked a special train car to take everyone to York in order to shop for their Secret Santa gifts. John hoped to make the best of things by spending the day with his best mate, but Rob insisted that he had to go off alone in order to check on the arrangements at the restaurant where the whole group was lunching. On top of that, he couldn't seem to shake Moseley who was, without a doubt, the last person John wanted to spend any time with. Well, maybe Thomas and O'Brien would be further down the list, but not by much.

Joseph was enthusiastic at the worst of times, which John had to admit was usually an admirable quality. Today however, he insisted on regaling John with story after story of how wonderful it had been to dance with Anna last night and how he was sure John had been wrong about her interests as she had been more than willing to spend almost the whole evening with him.

"I didn't get her name in the gift exchange," he enthused, "but I think I'll get her a little something anyway."

That was it, John just couldn't take it anymore. He reached into his pocket and looked at his phone, pretending he had gotten a text.

"Sorry, Joseph, I think this is where we part company. Rob just texted me that I'm needed over at the restaurant. Some problem he can't deal with on his own. You know how it is."

"Ah yes," Moseley nodded sagely, "no rest when you're the Earl's right hand man."

"Exactly."

In his current mood, John had no desire to run into any of the others from the Downton group, which he most assuredly would do if he spent his time perusing the shops. Instead, he walked a few streets past the shopping district and bought himself a cup of coffee in a little cafe. As he sipped, the events of the past few days whirled through his head. He just couldn't shake the uneasiness his dream had left him with.

What exactly would he do if Anna met and became involved with another man? 'If'? What was he thinking? 'When' was the proper word. Someone like her would not stay on the market forever. He had ended up in a horrendous relationship with Vera because he had let her push him into marriage too early. Would he ruin his chances with Anna by waiting too long? No, he couldn't let that happen.

He looked at his watch and decided that if he was quick, he would have enough time to get her gift and still make it to lunch on time.

On his way back to the venue, he was once again greeted by Molesley, but this time he readily agreed to walk with him the remainder of the way. As they walked, he got out his phone and sent a text to William Mason telling him that there was a twenty pound note in it for him if he managed to get Joseph to sit next to him at lunch.

As soon as the pair of them entered the restaurant William called Joseph over and insisted that he join their group at the table. This left John free to approach Anna.

"May I join you, Miss Smith?" he inquired, flashing the smile he reserved just for her.

"Absolutely, Mr. Bates," she practically gushed, "we seem to keep missing each other today. I haven't gotten to spend any time with you since early last evening. It almost seems like you've been avoiding me."

John couldn't tell if she were teasing or not but he apologized anyway, "Yes, I'm sorry. I went up to my room rather early last night. The cold was getting to my knee a bit and I wanted to be in ship shape for today's outing."

"That's quite alright. I hope you're knee is feeling better. It's just that I've missed you is all," she blushed.

John's grin grew even wider, "I've missed you too."

The two of them were immediately lost in conversation, neither one of them noticing how Sybil nudged Mary with her elbow and smiled.

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Later that afternoon, when most of the guests were resting after a long day of shopping, Thomas entered the Great Hall with his gifts, one for his Secret Santa, one for Mrs. O'Brien, and one for Master George. He bent to put them under the tree but instead of leaving straight away he picked up several of the other presents and looked at the tags. When he found the two that were addressed to Anna, an unpleasant smirk curled his lips. He quickly switched the tags and placed the packages back under the tree.

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When the time came to open presents there was an air of excitement in the room. Robert could be found bouncing on his heels in anticipation of the happiness that was to follow such an activity. Sybil was excited and nervous in equal parts wondering what John had purchased for Anna. John's emotions matched that of his goddaughter. He was both excited and nervous as he found a place not too near Anna but where he could clearly see her as she opened her gifts. He knew his was a bit cryptic, but he also knew that Anna knew him well enough by now to understand its symbolism.

Soon it was time to begin and Matthew, playing Santa, took package after package and handed them to their new owners. Each one was unwrapped with curiosity and glee. Many met with 'oohs' and 'ahs' and many more met with peals of laughter.

When the time finally came for Anna to open her gifts, John could barely breathe. First, she opened packages from the girls and one from Robert and Cora. Next, she opened John's gift, a silk scarf and matching gloves.

"Oh, how lovely," she said. Her tone was much less animated that John had hoped.

His spirits fell even further when she picked up the package Moseley had given her with a gleam in her eyes that John found incredibly sexy. This was the look he had hoped to see as she opened her gift from him. As she tore off the paper, Anna uttered only one word, "Oh," before her face clearly fell. Still clutching her presents, she stood, said thank you to the room, and made her way quickly to the door.

On her way, she passed Joseph who asked, "Did you like your gift, Anna?"

"Yes," she muttered, "it's lovely. I'm sorry Joseph, I'm not feeling all that well. I think I need a little air."

John watched from across the room and could easily see that Anna was upset. She hadn't gushed over his gift as he expected her too and Joseph's gift had clearly upset her. He had to find out what was going on. Maybe Joseph had overshot the mark. Maybe he had. Maybe they both had. Either way, he had to go try to make things right.

He made his way to the kitchen and found her sitting at the large table with her presents lying in front of her.

"Anna?"

When she said nothing in return, John moved to the chair next to her, "May I sit?"

"Be my guest," she waved her hand in his direction. When she looked at him, there were unshed tears in her eyes.

Pointing to the box on the table, he asked, "You didn't like your gift?"

"It's fine. Lovely."

"But it's not what you wanted," his voice was so tender it nearly broke her heart.

She had been right that night at Mary and Matthew's. It was time to admit that she had let her own feelings for John make her see things in his actions that just weren't there. But then she grew a bit angry. She understood that John couldn't tell her what she so longed to hear if his own feelings didn't go past friendship. But surely he should make his feelings clear to her one way or the other? She needed to know where she stood and she didn't think at this point in their relationship that it was too much to ask.

She reached over and lifted up a book, "Really John? This is the gift you thought would impress me? Elizabeth and her German Garden? That isn't even a good book, much less a good present."

John's expression turned from pained to confused, "What the hell are you talking about?" he asked. "I didn't give you Elizabeth and her whatever the hell you said."

"Well here's the book," she waved it in his face, "and here's the tag that was on it."

"Anna, I swear to you, I did not give you that book." He reached over and grabbed the package with the scarf, "This is the gift I gave you."

He took the wrapping and looked at the tag, "This one says it's from Joseph, but you have to believe that it's my gift. These tags have been switched."

Anna laughed bitterly, "You expect me to believe that someone like Joseph Moseley switched the gift tags?"

John thought for a moment. "No, I don't. But think Anna. Who's more likely to have given you a book called Elizabeth and her Who's it What's it?"

"Her German Garden," Anna replied automatically.

"Whatever," John continued urgently, "I swear I gave you the scarf. Someone, not Moseley, but someone switched those tags."

A moment later they both said in unison, "Thomas."

"But why would he do such a thing?" Anna wondered.

"Who knows. To make me look like a fool probably. And it worked pretty well too." John was filled with relief, "So, do you like my gift better now?" he smiled at her.

"I suppose," she replied. The scarf was better than the book, but it was a far cry from the personal, possibly romantic, gift she had hoped to find when she saw John's name on one of her tags.

"You suppose…" he answered, shoulders sagging, "but it's not the gift you were hoping for."

Anna shook her head. She couldn't make eye contact with him, so she fiddled with the ribbon from John's gift.

His voice took on a huskier quality as he placed his finger under her chin and raised her head, "And what were you hoping for, Anna?"

The look in his eyes took her breath away and she tried to answer, but no words would come. Again, she tried and failed. Finally, she took a deep breath, "I love you John Bates. I know it's not lady like to say so, but I'm not a lady and I don't pretend to be."

"You are a lady to me. And I've never known a finer one. I care for you a great deal, Anna. Too much probably."

Anna let the silky fabric of the scarf run through her fingers, answering with a tone of resignation, "So I get a scarf as a token of your affection."

"I think perhaps you missed part of your gift," John practically whispered.

"What do you mean?" She knew there was nothing in the box but the scarf and the gloves.

John took the wrapping gently in his large hands, "Look here. Attached to the ribbon. Do you know what this is?"

It was a sprig of plastic mistletoe. Anna had made no real notice of it when she thought the gift was from Joseph. Now, with John holding it in his fingers and speaking to her so softly, her mind and emotions were in a whirl.

"Was that part of my gift, or just the wrapping?"

John gave her a half smile that practically melted her, "Oh it's more than that. The scarf was just an excuse to give you the mistletoe in a room full of our colleagues."

"It was?"

"Mmmm," John hummed in response, "My god, Anna. I've loved you for so long. But my life is such a mess. I'm in debt, I have a prison record, I'm not yet divorced. How could I ask you to take on all of that?"

"But I already know all those things and I don't care."

John took her hand in his, "You should. You really should. But I'm so, so glad you don't."

It was quiet as they sat there, one of John's hands holding Anna's and the other toying with the mistletoe.

"The other day, Joseph admitted to me that he was interested in you. And then, last night, he danced with you all evening when I couldn't."

"John…" Anna interjected.

"No, Anna. Let me finish." When she nodded her head, he continued, "It got me to thinking about you being with another man. Not just Joseph, any other man, and I realized something. No matter what kind of a mess my life is in at the moment, it would be infinitely worse if I were to lose you. In fact, a life with you is the only one I can imagine being worthwhile at all."

He took a deep breath, "So... I'm offering you this mistletoe as a promise of things to come. Will you take it? Do you still want it?"

Anna got a twinkle in her eye, "I do want it John. On one condition."

"Oh? And what's that?" he smiled back.

"I get to use it for what it was intended for."

He took the sprig and held it over her head, "That's exactly what I was hoping you would say."


End file.
